Mountain gorillas: Bwindi’s biggest gem

A mountain gorilla rests at a lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The gorillas fetch Uganda Wildlife Authority about Shs40 billion annually from selling gorilla tracking permits. File photo

What you need to know:

  • Other than gorillas, Bwindi has about 120 mammals, including several primate species such as baboons and chimpanzees, as well as elephants and antelopes.
  • The amount of money non foreigners from outside East Africa pay for gorilla tracking permits. However, during off peak season they pay $350.

You will never see the day when you are as strong and as important as them. They weigh more than 200kg. They can rip a man into pieces and can break trees with their bare hands. They intimidate their opponents into a no contest by thumping their chests. They make more than Shs40 billion for the country a year.
Despite their legendary strength, they have a great fear of chameleons, caterpillars and water. And half of their world population lives in Uganda. They are mountain gorillas (Gorilla gorilla beringei), a species listed as endangered and can only be found in Mgahinga Gorilla and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks in Uganda.

However, it is only in Bwindi, where half of the World’s 880 mountain gorillas are found. The rest of the worldwide mountain gorilla population is in the Virunga Mountains which is shared by Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo.
Covered in a 25,000-year-old misty and most biologically diverse rainforest is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in south western Uganda. The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its ecological importance. With about 400 plant species, the park is famed as a host of half of the global endangered mountain gorillas. Bwindi was first designated as a forest reserve in 1932 and was made a national park in 1991.

A diverse park
Other than gorillas, Bwindi has about 120 mammals, including several primate species such as baboons and chimpanzees, as well as elephants and antelopes. It is also a birding paradise with around 350 species, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics.
Gorilla tracking is the main tourist activity in the park and generates most of the revenue for Uganda Wildlife Authority. The park has 11 habituated groups that can be tracked by tourists. Uganda Wildlife Authority collects about Shs40 billion annually from selling gorilla tracking permits. Tour operators, hotels and guides make money providing services to tourists.

Bwindi, with is afromontane forest is one of the richest ecosystems in Africa. In addition to birds and animals there are 220 species of butterflies, 27 species of frogs, chameleons, geckos and many endangered species. Among its diverse plant life, Bwindi has two tree species that are internationally recognised as endangered. These are brown mahogany (Lovoa swynnertonii) and brazzeia longipedicellata.
The park, one of the best birding locations in the world, also offers nature walks with many trails. One of the most polar trails leads visitors to the scenic Munyaga double waterfalls.
Despite numerous tourist activities, gorilla tracking remains one of the most popular because of the uniqueness of the mountain gorillas.

More about mountain gorillas

Mountain gorillas are generally herbivores. They usually do not need to drink water as they get all of the moisture they need from their food. Gorillas eat in the mornings and evenings and take a nap in the afternoon.
They are highly social and live in groups known as bands. Though very strong, they are gentle and shy and rarely pick fights. They live in stable and cohesive families headed by a dominant silverback who usually has an heir, most times a younger brother, half-brother, or an adult son. Below the heir are young males called blackbacks who act as sentries. Adult males are called silverbacks because of the silver-coloured hair on their backs.

If a mother dies or leaves the group, the silverback looks after the orphans or abandoned offspring, even allowing them to sleep in his nest.
Gorillas are very intelligent and can use simple tools and learn sign language. Some silverbacks know how to remove poachers’ snares from the hands or feet of their group members.
Like humans, female gorillas are pregnant for nine months and usually give birth to only one infant at a time. A newborn gorilla weighs about 1.8kg and rides on the mother’s back for up to three years.

Numbers

$600. The amount of money non foreigners from outside East Africa pay for gorilla tracking permits. However, during off peak season they pay $350.
$500. The amount resident foreign nationals pay. During off peak season they pay $300.
Shs250,000. The amount Ugandans and all East Africans pay. During off peak season they pay Shs150, 000.